Sisyphus Paradox

An lovely indie gem! I don't know if it's because it combines some of my favorite game genres, but I loved it. It's like "what if Rtype and FTL had a Roguelike child?" "But like a really well-implemented and addictive child?" This doesn't make sense, but you got it. I have put many hours into the game, and have yet to try to 2nd and 3rd ship, each of which have a totally different playstyle. Pros: - Many build options: you can be a "tank" with loads of energy / a "ranger" shooting from far away / a "melee" attacking from close up etc. - Nice hand-drawn visuals - A bit on the hard side, but very well balanced and rewarding - Lots of content to unlock - Awesome music! - More-than-a-basic-story, with much narrative and some lore if you're into it. Cons: - Higher timestreams are reaaally hard (or maybe I'm not good enough or lack dedication...) - Some enemy ships and bullets are very difficult to distinguish on specific backgrounds - I find some weapons and power ups really enjoyable (both practically and visually) but others seem way less interesting (and I avoid them after I tried them once - twice) - A run may be 1-1.5 hour, I would like shorter "cycles" in a roguelike - Some mi…

English. It is like forgotten 2D side shooter like Jets-N-Guns with some permanent progression and not bad idea with randomizing BUT - looks not so good, gameplay is lacking a lot of fireworks elements, doesn't clear what gear is doing what. It would be fun but poor graphics and not fun grind undo all of good stuff. Ukrainian. Схоже на забуті 2-вимірні стрілялки з видом боку як Jets-N-Guns з постійною прогрессією і непоганою ідеєю випадковості шляху проходження, АЛЕ - виглядає ніяково, ігровий процес сірий і невиразний без вибухів та інших графічних еффектів, неясні функції обладнання. Було б весело але через погану графіку та незрозумілий грінд усе пішло шкереберть. Russian. Похоже на старые и забытые 2-мерные стрелялки с видом сбоку как Jets-N-Guns с постоянным прогрессом и неплохой идеей рандомности пути прохождения, НО - виглядит плохоб игровой процесс серый и невыразительный без взрывов и других графическиз эффектов, непонятно с функциями оборудования. Было бы нормальным но из-за плохой графики и непонятного гринда все пошло не так.

If you're REALLY into shoot em ups and roguelites, yeah you'll probably be fine with it. But for a game to look, feel and play like a 2008 flash game when it came out in 2026 just doesn't feel right. Okay to buy it on a deep sale. But aside from that, it feels very unpolished.

An overly chaotic game where runs just plain take too long to complete. I wanted to like it but was generally frustrated by the lack of metaprogression to help make progress easier. It's there, but it's something like "1% damage reduction from projectiles" and each upgrade is expensive, especially the one I just mentioned. Some stages are too long and some stages vomit out a huge number of enemies that also vomit out projectiles like mad. Boss fights are also generally unenjoyable and slow. I never got the feeling of being powerful or having an insane run like a good roguelite does. The intro fluff to each run can be disabled apparently. I had complained about it here but the dev mentioned in the forums that it can be disabled. Good to know and I kinda missed that somehow. I can't confirm since the game has since been uninstalled and I won't reinstall it unless there's some sort of balancing update. TL;DR: If you don't like overly hectic and twitchy games and you like your roguelites to have good metaprogession that actually makes you noticably stronger then give this a skip. It's not worth it. I'd refund it if I didn't have too many hours to do so.

Despite a rather large number of graphical errors, complete lack of on-screen keyboard inputs and spartan presentation, Sisyphus Paradox plays well, respects the players time and relies on proven combat mechanics and persistent progression. I won my first run and would have no issues playing further, especially since I have yet to unlock the other two player ship options. I wish Unruly Mob success in refining the game post-launch.

🚀